The members were all siblings of the Dedrick family: Chris Dedrick (who wrote most of the songs), sister Sandy Dedrick and brother Bruce Dedrick were the original lineup. Younger sister Ellen Dedrick joined the group later, as did cousin Jeff Dedrick for a brief time, and youngest sister Stefanie joined near the end of their initial career. Their father, Art Dedrick, was a trombonist and music arranger. Their uncle, Rusty Dedrick, was a jazz trumpeter with Claude Thornhill and Red Norvo. They formed the band while living in New York City. Chris has said the group was influenced by vocal groups like The Hi-Los (who performed in Greenwich Village frequently at the time) along with Peter, Paul and Mary and the counterpoint experiments of Benjamin Britten. Their trademark sound involved complex harmonies, jazz-like chord progressions, and off-beat time signatures; all products of Chris's classical training.
The band released six albums from 1967 to 1972, all on Enoch Light's Project 3 label. For the most part, they were accompanied on the albums by studio musicians.
Revival of interest
During their career, The Free Design never gained the commercial success they, and a small fan-base, felt they deserved; a plight they noted in their 1969 song "2002 - A Hit Song", in which they describe how to create a hit, then continue, "there's just one fact that we can't quite shirk/ we did all this last time, but it did not work." They remained in obscurity after disbanding in 1972. Starting in the mid-90's, however, interest in them began to grow as part of a general resurge of interest in easy listening music from the 60's and 70's. In 1994, Japanese musician Cornelius began the revival by re-issuing the Free Design catalog on his "Trattoria" label. In 1997, the band Tomorrow's World covered their song "Kites Are Fun", and in 1998, the Spanish "Siesta" label put out four compilation albums of their music. Stereolab, whose lounge-inspired music clearly showed a Free Design influence, named a 1999 single "The Free Design" (though the song itself had no direct connection to the band). The Free Design song "Bubbles" was covered by Dressy Bessy on the 2000 Powerpuff Girls soundtrack.
Perhaps inspired by this newfound interest, in 2000 the band re-grouped, after a nearly 30-year retirement, to record the song "Endless Harmony" on the Beach Boys tribute album Caroline Now. This experience convinced them to record a new full-length album, 2001's Cosmic Peekaboo, which featured the original lineup minus Ellen Dedrick.
In 2001 the label Cherry Red released a Best of Free Design compilation. Their song "I Found Love" was included on the 2002 Gilmore Girls soundtrack. Another song, 'Love You' featured over the end credits to the Emma Thompson and Will Ferrell film, 'Stranger Than Fiction' in 2006. From 2002 to 2005, the original albums were reissued in the United States by the Light in the Attic label. In 2005, the label put out The Now Sound Redesigned, an album of Free Design remixes from established acts like Stereolab, Super Furry Animals and Peanut Butter Wolf.
The recognizable sound of this influential band can be felt in modern-day acts such as Stereolab, Cornelius, The Pizzicato Five, Beck, The High Llamas, and many others.
Chris Dedrick is now an established film composer, most notably for his Genie-awarded soundtrack for Guy Maddin's "The Saddest Music In The World."
Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head
The Free Design Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed
Nothin' seems to fit
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'
So I just did me some talkin' to the sun
And I said I didn't like the way he got things done
Sleepin' on the job
But there's one thing I know
The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me
It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me
Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
Cryin's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
Because I'm free
Nothin's worryin' me
It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me
Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
Cryin's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
Because I'm free
Nothin's worryin' me
The Free Design's hit song, "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head," sung by the legendary Burt Bacharach, tells the story of a man whose life is constantly rained on. They fall on his head despite his efforts to avoid them, and he is tired of the negative feelings they cause. In his despair, he talks to the sun and shares his feelings about the way he thought things should be.
Despite life being less than ideal, he knows that he must keep going, and that his troubles will be overcome by happiness. His determination and strong will to keep moving forward serve to inspire listeners to keep their heads up regardless of their current difficulties.
Line by Line Meaning
Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
The singer is being constantly bothered by the rain falling on their head.
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed
The singer feels like they don't quite fit in with the world around them.
Nothin' seems to fit
The singer feels a sense of disconnection or out-of-placeness.
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'
The singer can't escape the feeling of being overwhelmed by the rain and everything else that's not fitting properly in their life.
So I just did me some talkin' to the sun
The singer tried to take control of their situation by speaking to a symbol of warmth and light - the sun.
And I said I didn't like the way he got things done
The singer feels frustrated with how things are going and thinks the sun could do better.
Sleepin' on the job
The singer accuses the sun of being negligent and not doing its duty properly.
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'
Despite talking to the sun, the singer still feels stuck in their situation of being overwhelmed by the rain.
But there's one thing I know
The singer has a glimmer of hope amidst their struggles.
The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me
The singer believes they can overcome the hardships they face.
It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me
The singer looks forward to a time when they will be happy again.
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
The singer won't let their sadness get the best of them.
Cryin's not for me
The singer chooses not to give in to tears and despair.
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
The singer won't make things better by just complaining about them.
Because I'm free
The singer is free from the weight of their problems and is determined not to let them bring them down.
Nothin's worryin' me
The singer feels confident and optimistic despite the rain and everything else that's not fitting in their life.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Burt Bacharach, Hal David, BURT F. BACHARACH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind